“Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor” (Moonlight Sonata) by Beethoven
I’ll be the first to admit having a relatively limited knowledge of classical music. That being said, my father had an impressive collection of works from Brahms, Mozart and Chopin so I did have a lot of exposure to the genre growing up. Although I’ve often “caught” myself enjoying some Chopin, until recently I had never acknowledged my own appreciation and always considered classical to be my “dad’s music”. “Moonlight Sonata” changed that for me a few years ago.
I’ve always felt that whether or not we like a particular song, is as dependent on the circumstances in which we hear the song, as on the music itself. Our general state of mind tends to not only affect how we act, but also what we “like”. What I’m trying to convey is that one day I heard this piece, and for some strange reason, it sounded so much better than all the other times I had heard it before. That day for the first time, the music made sense to me.
Legend has it that Beethoven wrote this piece in honor of one of his pupils, the Countesss Giulietta Guicciardi whom he fell madly in love with. Being from different social “classes”, there was never any real possibility of them getting married or being in any meaningful relationship for that matter. If the story is to be believed, then it’s safe to say that “Moonlight Sonata” is an expression of Beethoven’s romantic hopelessness at the time….
Ah L’amour.
Title: Piano Sonata No 14 in C# Minor (Moonlight Sonata)
Composer: Beethoven (Interpretation by Tomislav Stanich)
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“Granada” by Isaac Albeniz (Jason Vieaux guitar interpretation)
I stumbled onto Isaac Albeniz’ work while listening to a collection of guitar solos performed by Jason Vieaux, who happens to be one of the elite guitarists of our time.
I have always been amazed by his ability to “humanize” very complex guitar compositions. Sometimes, the complexity of a musical piece makes an artist focus so much on achieving a technically “perfect” performance, that the resulting music, although “correct”, lacks real feeling. Great performers are able to connect the perfect rendition of a written piece, to the underlying emotion intended by its composer.
“Granada” is my favourite of the eight beautiful compositions in “Suite Espanola” by Isaac Albeniz. Each piece was written to represent different regions and musical expressions of Spain (Granada, Cataluna, Sevilla, Cadiz, Asturias, Aragon, Castilla and Cuba which was still part of Spain in the 1880s).
It’s amazing to think that this piece was only originally intended for the piano.
Timeless…
Title: Granada
Artist: Jason Vieaux
Composer: Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909)
Album: The Music of Isaac Albeniz, 2003 / Suite Espanola Op. 47, 1886
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Ssidy is what my friends call me. I was born in Senegal of Malian parents (hence my Mali nationality). I grew up all over the place…Bamako, London, Accra, Cape Town, before I went to college in Miami and finally got a job in Sydney where I’ve been living since August 2008.
When I’m not working on The Timbuktu Project, or as a financial analyst (full-time), you can usually catch me somewhere on a football pitch or involved in anything music related. Music is everything to me. Whatever mood I am in, there is always a song that captures the moment perfectly. Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes around me will probably attest to this: I listen to all types of stuff.....possibly because no single genre holds enough songs to quench that musical thirst of mine... 